Emotional Intelligence & Emergency Response – Part 4

We are pleased to offer this talk by Dan Goleman called Emotional Intelligence and Emergency Response. Whether you are a manager leading a team through a time of crisis, or a first responder handling a dangerous emergency, Goleman’s guidance provides a framework which may be used to prepare for such an event. In this section, Goleman leads a discussion with Barry Dorn of the Harvard School of Public Health and Leonard Marcus of the Harvard National Preparedness Leadership Initiative.

Section 4 – Risk, Uncertainty and Experience

In the last decade, the public health profession has often been called on to prepare for unprecedented emergency events. As public health officials face off against global pandemics and the threat of chemical/biological weapons, the unpredictable nature of the emergency becomes a grave concern. And to compound this problem, the brain responds to uncertainty in the same way as it responds to a known danger.

In these new and ever-changing times, what’s the best way for an emergency worker to prepare for the unprecedented event?